Valve mechanism for gas meters



Dec. 2, 1930. G. MEYER VALVE MECHANISM FOR GAS METERS 2 Sheets-Shet 1 Filed Nov. 26, 1927 2 7: 4m M him a [N Vb zvroze 650,96 fi/m Ee KWWM A ITO/m1; x5

Bywjl Dec. 2,1930. G. MEYER VALVE MECHANISM FOR GAS METERS Filed Nov. 26 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A ITO/m5 Ks Patented Dec. 2 19 30 GEoRGMEYER, F MAINZ, GER ANY, ssrenon To .eAsM ssERrABRIK MAINZ, nLs'rnl-ir a 005 011 MAINZ, GERMANY I AL E MECHANlSM n03 METERS Application fi1ed Novemberw26, 1927, SeriaINo. 2 77 0; "and in Germany hecember 1 1926i l/ly present invention relates to a ,valve mechanism for gas meters, particularly those of-tthe type known as'dry'gas 1neters.- The object ofmy improvements is tosimplify the construction of'thevalvemechanism and to reduce] the chanCes'ofleakage: Other features of the invention will appear from the description following hereinafter 'and from the accompanying drawings, which illustrate three typical and satisfactory formsof my present invention, and-in which Fig. 11s a horizontal" sect1on1through1one embodiment of my invention ,Fig. 2 is'a partial vertical. section ;on .the line 2+2 1 of Fig. 1; F 3 is a diagrammatic plan view of an?- other embodiment of niy'inventionr'FigJl is a similariviewof a third form. Thecasi'ng of the gas meter- 'illustrated by Figsl and'2has a horizontal partition or ,wall 1 below which are locatedithemea'suring chambers 2, 3, 4, and 5 through which flows the gas to be metered; these chambers may beef the usual'diaphragin-type, or of any other suitable construction, and I have therefore not deemeditnecessary-to showthem in detail in the drawings. Suffice it to say that theKinovable. members 5 of such measuring chambers impart an oscillating motion to the two upright rock shafts 6 andi7 whichextend through the partition and, which, by means of crank arm's 8, 9 and connecting rods 10, 11 re.- spectively, are adapted to. rotate. the valvecontrolling shaft 12.. This shaft is. shownras j provided with cranks 23, 24set at 90 to each other, the crank 23 beingqconnectedwitha rod 25 arranged to'actuate a slide-valve 21 which reciprocates in the direction indicated bythe arrows and controls two ports Band 7 15,1":01' instance the inlet ports leading-from the inlet chamber-28 ofthe caslngto two different measuring chambers. The valve 21 moves in unison witha, pin: 46 which, by means'of a rod 47 extending beneaththe partitionl, and within-one of the measuring chambers, imparts a like reciprocating motion to anotherslide valve 45, controlling ports 14, 16, which inthe'case assumed above will be the outlet ports from the same measur ing chambers that have the'inlet ports18 and respectively. I The ports 14, 16, open into other pairof'inlet ports 17, 19 and another pair-of outlet ports 18, 2O companion tOfthG:

ports 17, 19 respectively, these ports'17, 19

OFFICE 1 and 18, 2O beingcontrolledby slide valves 'i exactly like "the slide valves 21, 45, the crank 24 actuatingthevalve's of the ports 17,19,

18',- 20in the same manner that the valves 21, ;arefactuated*by thecrank23g that is, the

crank 24' actuates the valve controlling the port-s17, 19'directl'y, by means of a rod" corresponding tO.,l)l1eTjI'Odf 2.5, while the.,-'valve 1 controlling the ports 18 and 20.would be acetuat ed from thecrank 24 indirectly, by means of a connection of thesalne,character as the connection 46, 47., 48,- the latter numeralidesignating apin similar to the pin146 and-con nected with the slide valve 45. Of course,as the cranks 23-, 24 are placed at 90 from each other,theslideevalves' 21, 45 will be tiined-differen tly' from-theslide valves of the other pair. The portscontrolled by the slide valves" are preferably" ofptwo different types, the

ports, 13, 14,:19, and 20 being shown as hav ing,,:at the ends adjacent to the companion ports 15, 16, "17, and jl8 'res'pectively, extensions orslits ranginglongitudinally, the pins suchas 4b and 48 traveling in these slits. The

necessity 'for these slits arises from the fact that the stroke-of the slide valvesand of the pins is greater than the'widthofthetports,

measured in' the direction in which the valves move. Said slits, however,- should notact to increase the eflective ,areaof the respective p'orts,' and are therefore permanently closed or, covered, either by the body of the valve (as shown for the valve 21 in Fig.1), or byw a'tongue projecting from the valve body,'as sh'own'in Fig. 1 for the tongue 49. extending from :the valve 45 toward the companion valve 21. This tonguelmay also be utilized v foriguiding. the valve in a rectilinear path during its reciprocating movement: Ihave not indicated any separate g'uidesengaging the valves, as these expedients will be readily understood and provided-by personsskilledi in this 'art'. ['111 fac't', the pins 46, 48 may be guided inthe slit extensions of theports -13 and 14 respectively effectively enough to insure a rectilinear movement of the valves, without any additional guides.

It will be seen that the valve motion described above is exceedingly simple, composed Bil of a very small number of parts, efficient in operation, with a minimum of surfaces exposed-to wear, and with practically no danger of leakage and consequent inaccuracy of i'neasurement. In particular, it will be noted that the connection by which themotion of the shaft 12 (located in the compartment 28) is transmitted to the valve 45 (located in the compartment 29) does not pass through the partition 27 which separates the two compartments 28 and 29, but extends beneath the partition 1; I thus avoid the difliculty of obtaining a tight oint experienced when, as in certain prior constructions, the actuating connection to one valve of each pair extends through a' partition such as 27. It will further be noted that both shafts 6 and 7 and their connections with the shaft 12 are located in the same chamber (28), thus avoiding the danger of leakage which exists when, as in certain prior constructions, the shafts such as 6 and 7 are on opposite sides of the partition 27 so that one of the shaft-operating rods such as 10, 11 has to extend through saidlpartition.

i In the embodiment of my invention illustrated by Fig. 3, I have shown a shaft '12 rotated in any well-known or approved manner by the movable members of the measurr ing chambers; this shaft, therefore, corresponds in function to the shaft 12 of'Figs. 1 and 2. On the shaft 12' is secured a toothed wheel 51, in mesh with a toothed wheel 52 of like diameter, and with a similar toothed wheel 53. Said wheels-52, 53 are provided with crank pins 54, 59 respectively extending downwardly into recesses 57, 58 provided in the upper surfaces of the slide valves 21', 21 respectively; of these, the valve 21 controls two ports corresponding to the ports 13, 15 of Fig. 1, .while the valve 21' controls two ports corresponding to the ports 17 and 19 of Fig. 1. The valves 21, 21* are guided byany suitable means 68 for rectilinear movement in the direction indicated by the arrows." Both valves and their actuating parts 51, 52, 53,54, 59 are located in the same compartment compartment corresponding to 28 of'Figs. 1 and 2), so that in connection with these parts, there are no joints liable to leak. The lower end. surfaces of the pins 54, 59 do. not engage the respective valves, the contact being exclusively at the peripheral surfaces of said pins; this is done for the purpose of reducing friction and wear. :The outline of each of the recesses 57 58 consists of circular arc portions (1,5, the radius of which is equal to the eccentricity of the crank pins 54, 59, the centers of said arcs lying on the axial line cc extending through the center of the wheel 52 or 53 respectively; furthermore, the outline of each of said recesses includes short transverse extensions all located at the junction of the arc portions a, b of the same recess. It will be obvious that with the wheels 51, 52, 53 rotating in the direction indicated by the arrows (at the same angular speed, in view of the equal size of said wheels), the pins 54, 59 will causea reciprocation of the slide valves 21, 21 in the direction of the arrows, and it will further be obvious that, owing to giving the arcs a, 6 man equal to the eccentricity of the crank pins 54, 59, the slide valve will be given a period of rest or dwell at the end of each stroke, during the time that the said pins travel along one-half of the respective are a or Z). While Fig. 3 shows only two valves, for controlling ports such as the ports 13, 15, 17, and 19 of Fig.1, these valves would, in )ractice, be combined with two additional valves controlling ports corresponding to the ports 14,16, 18, and 20 of Fig. 1. These additional valves might be operated by connections such as those indicated at 46, 47, 48 in Fig. 2, or by an arrangement duplicating the one illustrated by Fig. 3, that is, there might be another shaft like 12. with its own set of wheelssuch as 51, 52, 53 and crank pins to operate such additional valves.

Fig.4 shows anarrangement of the same general characterfas the one describedowith reference' to' Fig. 3, but the wheels 52 and 53 which aredriven by the wheel 51 on the shaft 12", instead of beingprovided with crank pins, have cam groovessuch as the one shown at61, 66, 67 on the lower surface of therespective wheel, such groove comprising two concentric or dwell portions 66, 67 of different radii located on opposite sides oftheircenter, which coincides with the axis of the wheel 52 or 53 respectively. These two dwell portions are connected by cam portions proper 61. The valve 21" sliding along the guides 68 is shown as provided with a tongue 63 from which a pin 64 projects upwardly into the cam groove 61, 66, 67. As in the form illustrated by Fig. 3, the wheels 51, 52, 53 and their operative connections witht'he respective slide valves are located in the same chamber or compartment (28), and the remarks made with reference to Fig. 3'as regards the provision of additional valves to govern ports such as 14, 16, 18, and 20, and as regards the operation of such additional valves, will also apply to Fig. 4. Inasmuch as the timing of the valve or valves controlled by the wheels 52 (Fig. 3) and 52' (Fig. 4) is to be diflerent from the timing of the valve or valves controlled by the wheels 53 and 53 respectively, the crank pins 54, 59 in one case, and the cam grooves 61, 66, 67 in the other case, are set differently, the pins 54, 59 being in positions at 90 from each other, and the camgroove of-the wheel 52 being in a posia :the valves 21 2 1 and 21".

With reference to the connection 47 shown in Figs-.1, and 2 (and available, as set forth, in conjunction with the'forms of my invention illustrated by Figs. 3 and 4), it will be understood that it extends beneath thepartition 1, that is, to "say, in that compartment or chamber of the casing which contains the measuring chambers. Itwill be. understood that the horizontal partition 1 divides the ms 7 ing into an upper chamber (subdivided by the vertical partition 27 into the inlet compartment 28 and the outlet compartment 29) and the lower chamber which, as just stated,

' contains the measuring chambers 2, 3, 4, and

5. My invention is applicable to meters of v thetype shown in my Letters Patent oft-he United States, No. 1,758,083 dated May 13,

1930, and to other gas.meters as 'well. By connecting the actuating. shaft directly with *only one of a pair'of valves, and actuating the other valve of such pair indirectly, by a connection coming from said directly operated valve, I avoid the'neces sity for'passing one of the valve-actuating members througha partition such as 27. In my said earlier application, one of the connections from the actuating shaft 12 to one valve of each pair extends through the partition 27, and a special packing is required at this point.

Various modifications may be made without departing from the nature of my invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim: 7

1. In a device of the class described, a casingv having a partition dividing it into an r upper chamber and a lower chamber, and an other partition dividing said upper chamber intoan inlet compartment and an outlet compartment, each provided with a port, valves controlling said ports, mechanism,;located in said ports,"mechanism,-located in one. of said compartments,tor the directactuation of the valve thereof, and an operative connection extending from said valve to the other valve, exteriorly of said compartments and "clear of said partition. I 1

4. In a device of the class described, an inlet compartment and an outlet compartment, each provided with a port,-slide valves movable in the same direction and controlling saidrports, mechanism, located in one of said compartments, for the direct actuation of the valve thereof, and-a rod extending from saidv valve in the direction of the path of the valve and connected with the other valve to actuate the latter, said rod being arrangedexteriorly of the compartment in which said direct actuation mechanism is located. v

5'. In a device of the class described, a

casing having a partitiondividing it into an k upper chamber and a lower chamber, and

another partition dividing said upperchamher into an inlet compartment and an outlet compartment, each provided with a port,

valves controlling said ports, a measuring chamber. located in said lower-chamber and communicating v with said through said ports when the respective valves are open, mechanism, located'in. one of said compartments, for the direct ,actuationoff.

the valvethereof, and an operative connection extending from said valve to the other compartments 7 valve,'through said measuring 'chamber and 7 clear of'the partition which separates. said compartments.

specification. a

GEQRG MEYER.

one of said compartments, for the direct actuation of the valve thereof, and an op erative connection extending from said valve to the other valve, throughsaid lowerchamher and clear ofthe partition which separates said compartments. r V

2. A device according to claim 1, in which ,In testimony whereof I have signed this the valves move rectilinearly and are connected by a rod. V

3. In a device of the class described,a casing having a partition dividing it into an inlet compartment and an outlet compartment, each provided with a port, valves'controlling 

